“Oh, please, young woman. I need to see more colors.” The man is nearly on the floor, palms trembling, voice cracking with a desperation I’ve seen only in the truly deprived. And yet, he isn’t blind. He isn’t even color‑deficient. He is simply greedy for more.

“I’ve told you already,” I say, keeping my voice steady. “The procedure is for the blind. You can see just fine.”

Sometimes I feel like my title—scientist—is nothing more than a name tag.

“No,” he cries. “There are colors I still can’t see. I want to see Luthria, Cindara, Veliscent, Thrymel, and Korvane. All of them! I want to truly see the world. COLOR IS FREEDOM.”

His voice ricochets off the chrome‑lined walls of SpectraNova’s intake hall.

I don’t know what to tell him. There are blind patients behind him, clutching their patient chips, ready to spend their riches.

Dr. Cael Veyron will revoke my lab privileges if even one of them grows impatient. At SpectraNova, falling behind schedule is an unforgivable sin.

“I am not the one in charge here. I am merely a scientist.”

He smiles suddenly, a smile that’s too slow and too knowing.

“I’m from the Veiled Circle.”

Cold ripples up my spine. What? 1

“That industry watchdog group?” I ask.

“That influence group,” he corrects. “And we both know what you’re doing here is ethically wrong.”

“I’m not the one in charge of the industry.”

“Perhaps not,” he says lightly, grinning and scratching his chin. “But I could hold every scientist here accountable, including you.”

He leans in, as if he’s about to whisper something to me.

“Do you truly think disobeying your boss will cause you to lose access to your laboratory?” He looks at my face, smiling as if he expected me to be unsure. “I know you think the people running this industry are valuable. Maybe even more than you. And in some ways, that is true. The Veiled Circle works with them to benefit economically. SpectraNova pays us to not hold them accountable. But the truly valuable people here are scientists like you. Your expertise has become rare. SpectraNova’s executives need you more than you need them. Even Dr. Veyron knows that.”

“Then why threaten us scientists specifically?”

“Because we need you to follow our rules. I don’t care about SpectraNova. The Veiled Circle has no use for companies. We need the scientists. You are the real assets.”

My pulse spikes.

“What difference would it make if we worked for you?” I finally say. “What difference would it make for us?”

“My father was blind,” he says. “He saw Cindara during an unsanctioned trial. He was never the same. Do you know what that means? If ordinary people gain access to these colors, it will reshape cognition. It will reshape society.”

“People die from procedures like this. Do you not understand?”

“And some gain the ability to see in new dimensions. They can fathom 4D. With more Tesseractives, we can help your ill mother by advancing society. Even if the risks are great,” he yells, making me fear his impatience.

He has access to my mother’s information. I feel exposed.

“Do you truly care about your patients? How are they benefitting you? Even though I can just hold you accountable, I am giving you a chance at doing something important. Maybe you can get a higher title.”

“You say color is freedom. But you want that freedom only for the people above. You don’t have control. You need me to give you freedom.

A beat.

“I see that clearly. And I didn’t need a single new color to do it.”